Solid Liquid Gas

Source: Laboratory of Dr. Jay Deiner — City University of New York Extraction is a crucial step in most chemical analyses. It entails removing the analyte from its sample matrix and passing it into the phase required for spectroscopic or chromatographic identification and quantification. When the sample is a solid and the required phase for analysis is a liquid, the process is called solid-liquid extraction. A simple and broadly applicable form of solid-liquid extraction entails combining the...

Particles in a solid are tightly packed together (fixed shape) and often arranged in a regular pattern; in a liquid, they are close together with no regular arrangement (no fixed shape); in a gas, they are far apart with no regular arrangement (no fixed shape). Particles in a solid vibrate about fixed positions (cannot flow) and do not generally move in relation to one another; in a liquid, they move past each other (can flow) but remain in essentially constant contact; in a gas, they move...

Source: Laboratory of Dr. Michael Evans — Georgia Institute of Technology The ratio of the mass of a substance to its volume is known as the mass density or, simply, the density of the substance. Density is expressed in units of mass per volume, such as g/mL or kg/m3. Because the density of a substance does not depend on the amount of substance present, density is an “intensive property”. To measure the density of a sample of material, both the mass and volume of the sample must be determined.

The process of a solid dissolving in a liquid to form a solution is governed by the solubility limit, which is the maximum amount of the solid substance, or solute, that can be dissolved in a specific volume of the liquid or solvent. As the solute dissolves, it reaches a point where no more solute can be dissolved at a given temperature - this is known as the saturation point. However, if further solute is added and it manages to dissolve, the solution becomes supersaturated. Supersaturated...

Most solids and liquids are incompressible—their densities remain constant throughout. In the presence of an external force, the molecules tend to restore to their original positions, which is only possible because the constituents interact. The interactions help the constituents pass on information about external disturbances, like sound waves. Therefore, sound waves travel faster through these media. Compared to solids, the constituents in a liquid are less tightly bound. Thus, sound waves...